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Foreclosures surge in area, state; fall in U.S.

Published: Thursday, December 13, 2012 at 1:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 8:26 p.m.

Home defaults rose across Southwest Florida in November as lenders turned renewed attention to distressed properties still on their books.

In all, 1,697 foreclosures were filed in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties last month, a 6 percent jump from October and a 15 percent spike from November 2011 -- making the region's foreclosure rate among the highest in the country, new data show.

The foreclosure uptick was the sharpest in Sarasota and was consistent with a resurgence in home delinquencies that have occurred over the past several months across Florida.

By contrast, foreclosure activity fell in most other parts of the country, according to real estate research firm RealtyTrac Inc.

"Unemployment in Florida is higher than the national average still, and that's a huge indicator of the housing market," said David Hicks, a Sarasota foreclosure attorney. "The fact also remains that half the borrowers in Florida are underwater on their homes, and those are just the ones who can afford to pay their mortgages -- for now."

The problem here is so acute that one in every 277 residences in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area was in some stage of foreclosure last month -- the eighth highest default rate in the nation.

Sarasota led the three-county area with 950 total foreclosures in November, up 28 percent from the previous month and 43 percent from the same time last year, according to RealtyTrac, which measures default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

In Manatee, the county tallied 500 total foreclosures, a 22 percent drop from October and a modest 2 percent gain from November 2011.

Charlotte had both the area's lowest rate of foreclosure in November and also the smallest number of new filings, with home defaults rising 12 percent over the month to reach 247. That figure, however, was down 24 percent from the 327 reported a year ago in November.

Although total foreclosure activity has picked up, early-stage foreclosures, or lis pendens -- Latin for "suit pending" -- cooled somewhat in November, after gaining traction much of the year.

The 594 lis pendens issued in the three counties in November slid 11 percent from October and 19 percent from the same month last year. Early-stage filings made up about one-third of all foreclosure activity in Southwest Florida last month.

Market watchers attribute the overall foreclosure turnaround, which began this fall, to the $25 billion fraud settlement signed by the nation's five largest banks in April, which gave lenders clearer guidelines for processing backlogs of foreclosure cases and more defined penalties for mistakes.

Many loan servicers also are refiling cases that were put on hold in 2008 and 2009 amid the so-called "robo-signing" fiasco, in which lenders seized homes despite fraudulent and incomplete paperwork.

Unlike previous years, however, Realtors do not expect banks to flood the market with new foreclosures, which could cause home prices to plummet.

"I don't think we will see a big dump like we did in the past," said Marcus Vanzant, the broker and owner of Marcus & Co. Realty in Bradenton. "This is just a product of how long a foreclosure takes in our system right now; this is going to be the new norm. It's part of what we have to deal with."

Florida remained the foreclosure capital of the U.S. in November, with the nation's highest rate for the third consecutive month.

Sunshine State cities accounted for seven of the top 10 foreclosure rates among all U.S. metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more. The combined Sarasota-Bradenton area was No. 8.

Florida posted a 12-month-high of 29,612 total foreclosures in November, rising 3 percent from October and 20 percent from November 2011, according to RealtyTrac.

The monthly foreclosure snapshot looked brighter across the U.S., though, with new foreclosure filings slipping to their lowest level since December 2006.

Foreclosures were reported on 180,817 U.S. properties in November, a decrease of 3 percent from October and down 19 percent from November 2011 -- the 26th consecutive month with an annual decline.

Many housing analysts expect the filings, at least across the Florida, to continue to rise in 2013.

<p>Home defaults rose across Southwest Florida in November as lenders turned renewed attention to distressed properties still on their books.</p><p>In all, 1,697 foreclosures were filed in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties last month, a 6 percent jump from October and a 15 percent spike from November 2011 -- making the region's foreclosure rate among the highest in the country, new data show.</p><p>The foreclosure uptick was the sharpest in Sarasota and was consistent with a resurgence in home delinquencies that have occurred over the past several months across Florida.</p><p>By contrast, foreclosure activity fell in most other parts of the country, according to real estate research firm RealtyTrac Inc.</p><p>"Unemployment in Florida is higher than the national average still, and that's a huge indicator of the housing market," said David Hicks, a Sarasota foreclosure attorney. "The fact also remains that half the borrowers in Florida are underwater on their homes, and those are just the ones who can afford to pay their mortgages -- for now."</p><p>The problem here is so acute that one in every 277 residences in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metropolitan area was in some stage of foreclosure last month -- the eighth highest default rate in the nation.</p><p>Sarasota led the three-county area with 950 total foreclosures in November, up 28 percent from the previous month and 43 percent from the same time last year, according to RealtyTrac, which measures default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.</p><p>In Manatee, the county tallied 500 total foreclosures, a 22 percent drop from October and a modest 2 percent gain from November 2011.</p><p>Charlotte had both the area's lowest rate of foreclosure in November and also the smallest number of new filings, with home defaults rising 12 percent over the month to reach 247. That figure, however, was down 24 percent from the 327 reported a year ago in November.</p><p>Although total foreclosure activity has picked up, early-stage foreclosures, or lis pendens -- Latin for "suit pending" -- cooled somewhat in November, after gaining traction much of the year.</p><p>The 594 lis pendens issued in the three counties in November slid 11 percent from October and 19 percent from the same month last year. Early-stage filings made up about one-third of all foreclosure activity in Southwest Florida last month.</p><p>Market watchers attribute the overall foreclosure turnaround, which began this fall, to the $25 billion fraud settlement signed by the nation's five largest banks in April, which gave lenders clearer guidelines for processing backlogs of foreclosure cases and more defined penalties for mistakes.</p><p>Many loan servicers also are refiling cases that were put on hold in 2008 and 2009 amid the so-called "robo-signing" fiasco, in which lenders seized homes despite fraudulent and incomplete paperwork.</p><p>Unlike previous years, however, Realtors do not expect banks to flood the market with new foreclosures, which could cause home prices to plummet.</p><p>"I don't think we will see a big dump like we did in the past," said Marcus Vanzant, the broker and owner of Marcus & Co. Realty in Bradenton. "This is just a product of how long a foreclosure takes in our system right now; this is going to be the new norm. It's part of what we have to deal with."</p><p>Florida remained the foreclosure capital of the U.S. in November, with the nation's highest rate for the third consecutive month.</p><p>Sunshine State cities accounted for seven of the top 10 foreclosure rates among all U.S. metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more. The combined Sarasota-Bradenton area was No. 8.</p><p>Florida posted a 12-month-high of 29,612 total foreclosures in November, rising 3 percent from October and 20 percent from November 2011, according to RealtyTrac.</p><p>The monthly foreclosure snapshot looked brighter across the U.S., though, with new foreclosure filings slipping to their lowest level since December 2006.</p><p>Foreclosures were reported on 180,817 U.S. properties in November, a decrease of 3 percent from October and down 19 percent from November 2011 -- the 26th consecutive month with an annual decline.</p><p>Many housing analysts expect the filings, at least across the Florida, to continue to rise in 2013.</p><p>"We're not anywhere near a normal market yet," said Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach real estate consultant.</p>